Duplicate-whist table



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I G. BOTWBLL. DUPLIGATB WHIST TABLE. l

No. 575,457. .Patented Jan. 19, 189,7.`

WI'TNESSES y, ya; QCM@ .DUPLIGATB W'HIST TABLE.

INVENTOR WITNESSES ArnNT OFFICE..

GEORGE S. BOUTIELL, OF WTATERBURY, CONNECTICUT.

DUPLICATE-WHIST TABLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 575,457', dated January 19, 1897. Application filed February 5, 1896- Serial No. 578,114. (No model.)

.To @ZZ whom t may concern.-

Beit known that I, GEORGE S. BOUTWELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Vaterbury, in the county of Ne-w Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Duplicate- Whist Tables; and I do-hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact de scription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has for its object to provide a duplicate-whist table which will dispense with the use of sets of trays or boards and will provide convenient receptacles for the hands of cards when dealt and for the packs of cards when they` are bunched, which by making the table revoluble will permit the replay to be made by merely changing the position of the table, and which by making the racks removable will permit the entire set of hands to be removed from the table and another set of hands substituted to be played before the replay of the first set of hands, thus rendering it practically impossible for any of the players to remember any peculiarities in the run of the hands in the original play.

With this end in view I have devised the novel duplicate-whist table which I will now describe, referring by numbers and letters to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this speciiication, in which- Figure l is a plan view, and Fig. 2 a section, on the line @c fr of one'form in which I have carried my invention into effect; Fig. 4t, a plan view, and Fig. 5 an elevation, of another form in which I have carried my invention into effect 5 Fig. 3, a perspective, on an enlarged scale, of one form of my novel card-rack detached; and Fig. G is a perspective of another forni ot my novel card-rack detached.

l denotes a table supported by a standard 2, which in the present instance I have shown as provided with legs 3. The table may or may not be made revoluble and may be of any preferred form, as, for example, round or square, as shown in the drawings, or polygonal, and may or may not be provided with a flange 4, and the flange, if used, may

be either vertical or oblique to the plane of the table.

A denotes card-racks, four of which are placed on each table at equal distances .apart and which may or may not be removable. The card-racks are shown as provided. with cleats 5 upon their sides, which are adapted to engage corresponding grooves in blocks 6, secured on the under side of the table.

Each of the card-racks is divided by means of vertical partitions 7 into two series of compartments or pigeon-holes, the compartments in one series, whichI have indicated individually by 8, being of suitable size to receive an entire pack of cards, and the compartments in the other series, which I have indicated individually by 9, being of suitable size to receive a hand of thirteen cards. In the present instance I have shown a table as arranged to play twelve original hands, and have therefore shown each of the four cardracks as provided with three compartments 8 to receive an entire pack of cards, making twelve compartments 8 in all.

The twelve packs of cards when dealt are divided into forty-eight hands, twelve of which are placed in the compartments 9 in each of the racks. It is an important feature, however, of my novel table that I provide in each of the racks an additional compartment 9, so Vthat instead of twelve compartments for hands in each rack there are thirteen, that is, one compartment in excess of the number of hands that are to be placed in that rack. This is in order that there may always be a vacant compartment between the hand last played and the hand next to be played. This avoids all danger of mistake. In Figs. 3 and G I have indicated in one of the compartments S a full pack of Acards by l0 and in one of the compartments 9 a single hand of cards by 11.

kIt will of course be understood that by addving to each rack an additional compartment S and four additional compartments 9 the table may be made to provide for sixteen original hands instead of twelve, the number of original hands provided for being wholly unimportant so far as the principle of my invention is concerned.

In practice the racks are preferably indi IOO cated either by letters or numerals, and the different compartments 9 in each rack are also indicated by letters or numerals, so that all the hands in one particular pack may be readily placed together without danger of mixing them, even should the packs be alike, or any particular hand in any of the racks may be readily found and examined. In starting to play the game the cards are all dealt into hands, which are placed in compartments 9, thus providingr a hand ll for twelve of the thirteen compartments which are indicated by 9. There would then be no cards in the compartments indicated by S. After the original hands have been played either the table maybe given a quarter-turn, which will place the hands in position for the replay, or, it preferred, supposing two tables to be running at the same time, the racks con taining the hands from one table may be removed and the racks containing the original hands from the other table substituted in their stead-that is, the original hands played at the two tables may be exchanged. The parties at each table will then play another -set of original hands before playing the re- .itdifiicult for any player to recall during the replay the run of hands in the original play. After the replay and before the tables are used again the hands in each pack are bunched together and the full packs are placed in compartments 8, three packs out of the twelve packs in the present instance being placed in each card-rack.

Referring to Figs. l, 2, and 3, it will be seen that the card-racks A are fitted to recesses in the edge or flange 4 of the table, so that when the racks are in the position shown in Figs. l and 2 the said racks constitute con- -tinuations of the said edge, so as to present an even, liush, or unbroken surface. In order that the cards may be readily withdrawn from these iiush racks or pockets, the edges of the partitions are provided with finger-recesses, as at l2 in Fig. 3. These nger-recesses are placed in line with each other and form in practice a groove which intersects the compartments.

In the form illustrated in Figs. l, 2, and 3 the table-top is circular, and the series of sets of compartments forming the card-racks are arranged in a curved plane conforming to the shape of the table-top, and the finger-recesses form a correspondingly-curved groove intersecting the compartments.

As above mentioned, the table-top may be rotatably mounted on the standard or post. This construction is shown in Fig. 2 ot' the drawings, in which the standard is shown as a sleeve mounted on a spindle rising from the legs 8. 4

I-Iaving thus described my invention, I claiml. A duplicate-winst apparatus comprising a table-top provided with four equidistant sets of guides under its edge, card-racks fitted to slide in said guides, each of said racks being divided by vertical partitions into two series of compartments of different widths, said compartments being open at their forward or front sides.

2. A duplicate-whist apparatus comprising a table-top having a plurality of sets of card racks or pockets in its edge and having openings in the top of the table and finger-recesses formed in the edges of the partitions between said card-pockets- A du plicate-whist apparatus comprising a tabletop having four sets of card racks or pockets in its edge and having openings in the top of the table, the edges of the partitions between the card-pockets being substantially flush with the portions of the table between the racks and having linger-recesses to facilitate the grasping of the cards.

4. A detachable rack for cardtables, provided with a plurality of compartments to receive the hands of cards and being of a sizesubstantially equal to the size of the cards, the said compartments being open in front and the partitions separating such compartments provided with linger-recesses to render the cards accessible when the rack is in its normal position under the table-top, the said rack being provided with cleats or projections adapted to cooperate with supporting means below the table-top to retain the rack in position.

5. A duplicate-whist apparatus comprising a table-top having a plurality of sets of card racks or pockets and having openings in the top of the table and finger-recesses formed in the edges of the partitions between said card-pockets.

6. A duplicate-whist apparatus comprising a table-top having openings in the top thereof and detachable sets of card racks or pockets the partitions between said pockets being provided with finger-recesses for convenience in grasping the cards.

7. A duplicate-whist table having a series of compartments extending through' the top thereof, with a groove intersecting the said compartments and supports for the compartments beneath the table, substantially as described.

8. A duplicate-whist table having a rotatably-mounted. top provided with a series of compartments, with an intersecting groove and supports for the compartments beneath the table, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof:l I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE S. BOUTIVELL.

N Vitnesses WALTER N. LOWELL, FREDK. B. WILLIAMS.

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